Box Score Game Box (pdf)
Inside Wofford Football
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On a rainy Saturday night, the Wofford football team was defeated 3-0 by Gardner-Webb at Gibbs Stadium. The Runnin' Bulldogs scored the lone points in the game in the fourth quarter and held the Terrier to only 162 total offensive yards.
The Terriers fall to 2-2 and Gardner-Webb is 3-1 overall. Wofford was led by Donovan Johnson with 116 yards on 28 carries. Gardner-Webb quarterback Lucas Beatty was 13-of-24 passing for 111 yards and Juanne Blount ran for 139 yards on 35 carries. Each team lost two fumbles on the night.
"If we had not played defense that well it would have been a lot worse," said head coach Mike Ayers. "Time after time they answered the call offensively and we just struggled all night. We had some mistakes in the kicking game on punt return and that lost a ton of field position. It was a terrible night. As far as rain, that is an understatement. Our kids gave great effort. We have an open week and we have a lot of guys nicked up. We have to get healthy again and go back to working the fundamentals. Everything that we are shooing for is still there for us. We need to get back on track. There are no easy ones and it was proven tonight. We knew they were going to be extremely difficult and hats off to them. They did a great job and we have to get back to work."
On the first drive for Wofford, the team gained one first down before punting. The teams then traded punts again and Gardner-Webb had the ball with 8:20 on the clock in the first quarter. They were three-and-out and punted. With the ball back, Wofford had one first down before punting with 4:31 and Gardner-Webb took over at the two-yard line.
Chris Armfield intercepted Lucas Beatty at the 30-yard line and returned it to the nine-yard line. After a false-start on fourth-and-one, the snap for the 23-yard field goal was bad and the Runnin' Bulldogs took over. After gaining three first downs, a fourth-and-two run was stopped by Hunter Thurley and Wofford took over on downs.
The Terriers had a first down run by Donovan Johnson, but the drive ended with a punt. Gardner-Webb took over at the nine-yard line with 9:41 left in the second quarter. They held the ball for eight minutes, however a 36-yard field goal attempt was wide left with 1:39 remaining in the first half. Wofford gained one first down before the end of the half.
After trading punts to open the second half, Gardner-Webb went three-and-out and punted. Will Gay muffed the fair catch and it was recovered by the Runnin' Bulldogs. They gained two first downs, but a fumble by Juanne Blount was recovered in the endzone by SeQuan Stanley. Wofford went three-and-out and punted with 3:18 left in the third quarter.
Gardner-Webb gained a first down, but a sack by Boston Bryant forced a punt. Will Gay muffed the catch and it was recovered by Drew White for Gardner-Webb at the 21-yard line. The Runnin' Bulldogs moved the ball inside the ten, but a fumble by Deonte Swinton was recovered by Leveritt Diggs at the eight-yard line. Wofford was forced three-and-out, and the snap for the punt was low and Gardner-Webb took over at the one-yard line. An apparent touchdown pass by the Runnin' Bulldogs was waived off due to a chop block. A 35-yard field goal by Jordan Day gave Gardner-Webb a 3-0 lead with 10:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Wofford went three-and-out and punted. The Runnin' Bulldogs took over with 8:59 remaining and moved the ball into the red zone. A 38 yard field goal was missed wide left and Wofford took over with 2:37 left in the game. Donovan Johnson ran for 16 yards, followed by a 14 yard run to go across midfield. On fourth-and-nine, the pass by Evan Jacks was intercepted by Keon Willams at the 34-yard line. Gardner-Webb took a knee twice to end the game.
Wofford had 162 total yards, with 157 on the ground. Gardner-Webb had 279 total yards, 168 of which were rushing. Wofford had only 8 first downs, while Gardner-Webb had 16. Wofford was 3-of-14 on third downs. Gardner-Webb was 6-of-18 on third down and 3-of-4 on fourth down. Gardner-Webb had three penalties, while Wofford had six. Gardner-Webb had a huge 37:43 to 22:17 time of possession advantage.
Wofford vs. Gardner-Webb Post-Game Notes
Running back Donovan Johnson ran for over 100 times for the eighth time in his career and for the third straight week.
The win by Gardner-Webb ended a streak of six straight wins by Wofford in the series.
The game last season at Gardner-Webb (9/1/12) was also played in the rain.
The shutout was the first since falling 24-0 to Western Carolina on November 5, 2005. It was the first shutout at home since October 24, 1987, a 10-0 loss to Davidson.
The interception by Chris Armfield was the first of his career.
Game captains were Josh Holt and James Lawson.
Attendance was 6,207 at Gibbs Stadium.
